Sustainable Development Goals 5 – Gender equality, and 10 – Reduce Inequality
For International Development Week 2023 (February 5-11) The United Church of Canada highlights Mission & Service Partners who are contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals.
Women are half of society. Many countries in the world are making efforts to integrate women into all productive and economic sectors. And yet, recent security concerns, geopolitics, as well as the impact of the COVID pandemic on global health, have negatively impacted women’s lives, especially in the Middle East, a region that has seen increasing crises.
In the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, government statistics shows that the unemployment rate among women increased to 31.5% in the first quarter of 2022, compared to 2021. Our World in Data shows that women's economic participation in Jordan decreased by 3.4% in 2021, after it recorded the highest rate of almost 17% in 2017. Jordan also hosts one of the largest refugees populations in the world.
To address this, MECC offers a breadth of programming to support women, particularly those in the most vulnerable situations, to enhance and develop their skills. One of those programs is a sewing course that offers training to increase access to job opportunities. This training aims to empower women to support themselves and their families towards a more sustainable future.
Twenty Jordanian, Iraqi, and Syrian women, many of whom are refugees, are participating in the sewing course. They learn new skills such as how to use sewing machines and different sewing techniques. The initiative strengthens women’s leadership skills as well, as they are accompanied by women trainers who themselves were participants of a previous phase of the sewing training course.
In January 2023, MECC in Jordan began a sewing training course for a new cohort of learners. Through these training programs, MECC helps to strengthen women’s roles in decision-making and promote equality and justice for all.
This story was adapted from MECC. You can read more about their work in Jordan and in the Middle East region on their website.